


darling, you're in my veins

by punktaekai (Loki_Likey_Thor_Odinson)



Series: TaeKai Alternate Universes [16]
Category: EXO (Band), SHINee, SuperM (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Band, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Blood, Blood Drinking, Blood and Injury, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, First Meetings, Flashbacks, Fluff, Human Kim Jongin | Kai, Human/Vampire Relationship, Injury, Interspecies Relationship(s), M/M, Mild Blood, University Student Kim Jongin | Kai, Vampire Lee Taemin, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:40:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26399581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loki_Likey_Thor_Odinson/pseuds/punktaekai
Summary: Taemin has always been hesitant about telling Jongin his secret.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai/Lee Taemin
Series: TaeKai Alternate Universes [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1521983
Comments: 10
Kudos: 38
Collections: Taemythological Round One





	darling, you're in my veins

Taemin had been concerned about telling Jongin his secret. It was somewhat wrong of him to keep it a secret in the first place, but he wanted to be sure that he and Jongin had something of worth before he risked everything blowing up in his face, making him more and more uneasy to tell a potential future partner.

He'd been scared his boyfriend might run for the hills, refusing to even think Taemin's name. Maybe he'd have been disgusted, horrified at the things that Taemin had done in the past. Maybe he'd just collapse and pray when he woke up he still had a throat.

These were the things that Taemin had expected when he sat Jongin down and told his boyfriend of a year that he was a vampire.

But he was hit with a _ oh, is that it? _

Taemin blinked, unable to understand what he was hearing.

Jongin wasn't scared?

If anything he seemed more annoyed at being distracted from writing his thesis for his class. He didn't try and cover his neck, on show from Jongin's lack of shirt. His chest was still slightly damp, the top of his tracksuit bottoms darkened in patches where Jongin hadn’t fully dried himself after his shower, merely drying enough to get dressed and hop back onto his laptop. Taemin let himself stare at Jongin’s abs for a moment before he focuses on the issue at hand.

Taemin wasn’t sure how to digest this.

It wasn't unheard of now-a-days for humans and creatures to live in harmony. There was still tension between the species especially when when it came to things like murders but for the most part, humans and vampires were co-existing without war for the first time most could remember. There was bias between interspecies relationships too, but from what he knew, Jongin wasn’t someone with a bias. Well, he fought for the rights of interspecies relationships, but that didn’t mean Jongin himself wanted one.

"You… What?”

Jongin looks up from his laptop, meeting Taemin’s eyes. “You’re a vampire. Anything else?”

Taemin blinks a few times and shakes his head, unable to really believe what’s going on. Jongin smiles, weakly, before flicking his eyes back to his laptop.

“I love you, and if we really need to sit down and have a full discussion on this, we will later, but I have to get this thesis done on how the Russian ballet influenced the dance globally, how it affected even how we learned how to do ballet here, or I’m not graduating college.”

Taemin makes a soft  _ mhm  _ and leans back in his chair. He supposes he can live with that. “You want a drink? Something to snack on?”

“Oh…” Jongin leans back in his chair, fingers hovering above his keyboard. “That fruit salad you make would be excellent, if you wouldn’t mind? And just a cup of tea?” His face is almost half-pleading and the bags surrounding his eyes, almost as dark as his irises, convinces Taemin - even though he didn’t  _ need _ any convincing in the first place.

“Alright, but I have to go to the shop and grab some of the fruit you like. Give me half an hour.”

Jongin smiles, tired but grateful, and returns to his thesis, lips tugging into a frown as his fingers type at a speed that Taemin is pretty sure is inhuman.  _ He’s _ inhuman, sure, but the speed Jongin types at Taemin is pretty sure could beat his running speed. 

Taemin gets up and heads through to their bedroom, changing his tracksuit bottoms for some jeans and stretching. He pulls on some socks and then heads to the kitchen. He picks up his wallet and keys, and heads to the door. He pauses as he pulls his shoes on, looking over his shoulder to where Jongin is still typing, frowning, concerned he might be pushing himself too hard before he heads out the apartment. 

Once he hits the street, he pushes down the urge to hiss - he hadn’t realised it was noon and the sun was at its strongest. Evolution has allowed them to wander in the sunlight, not being harmed by the powerful rays in recent times, but it didn’t mean it still didn’t hurt his eyes, or weakened him after too long. 

Taemin ducks into the alley by their apartment building, grateful for the shade, and heads south, towards the nearby market place. His thoughts return to Jongin, eyebrows furrowing. It is somewhat unusual for a human to take something like this so…  _ lightly _ . But then again, Jongin isn’t exactly a  _ usual _ human.

Jongin has always had an invested interest in supernatural rights.

* * *

Taemin remembers when he first met Jongin, at a rally to protect werewolves from the blatant hunting, culling and massacre from humans. Almost a million had been slaughtered before the news had broken, someone going undercover to show behind the scenes that no one had wanted to think about.

There had been one picnic bench with a shaded seat - the rest of them had seats but not shaded enough, and Taemin had been in the sun nearly all day, weak and in pain. There were three men, laughing and joking as they ate their lunches - Taemin had slowly filtered over, asking quietly if he could share their bench. Two of them had looked around, observing all the other benches to see if there was anywhere else Taemin could sit but one with black hair, a black shirt and simple light blue jeans had brightened and smiled, saying  _ sure _ without any hesitation. 

Taemin had quietly sat and drank his drink, grateful just for the last shaded seat in the area, when the welcoming man had turned to him. “So what do you think of all this?”

Taemin had jumped, but looked up, quirking an eyebrow. “Of all?”

“This werewolf culling thing.”   
  
“It’s dumb, idiotic, and it’s done nothing to edit werewolf numbers. All it’s doing is making their population angry and risking a war - which humans would not win. It’s best to draw agreements, make laws for both humans and wolves to adhere to, allow wolves their own areas - which they already had and humans invaded - and leave each other alone.”   
  
Silence had come from his answer and Taemin had glanced around the men at the table. The questioning man threw his hand up, pointing at Taemin as he turned to the man next to him. “See! He gets it.”

Taemin had disappeared after that, following the scent of another vampire nearby. He’d found a small group to mingle with and they rejoined the march later on. He’d stayed behind when the march ended and the herds of people began leaving at sundown, helping to clear the trash left behind - he’d watched over the years as humans destroyed the planet and it angered him. 

A hand had wrapped around his shoulder and he turned, quicker than he should have, to find the young man from earlier. He seemed nervous, a bit anxious and who immediately withdrew at the annoyance on Taemin’s face.   
  
“Yes?”   
  
“I uh- it’s nothing, it’s super dumb, I’m just… I’m sorry.” He’d started retreating before stopping, biting his lip. “Actually I uh… I’m Jongin.”   
  
Taemin nods, dropping the bottle he was holding into the recycling box he was holding. “Taemin.”   
  
“Look this is probably way out there, but, you’re… I… Could I get your number?”   
  
“My number?” Taemin tilted his head before he immediately kicked himself - cell phone number. “Oh, right uh. Sure, I guess.”    
  
Jongin had offered his phone, shy, and Taemin had added himself to the contact page open, ringing himself before cancelling the call and handing it back. “There you go.”   
  
“Thanks!” Jongin beamed and then returned to his group, waiting for him at the park entrance. 

It had taken weeks for Jongin to actually text Taemin - and truth be told, Taemin had forgotten about him. He’d thought Jongin had just found someone else and shrugged it off; he’s had countless relationships over the years, one human ghosting him doesn’t mean much.

But then Jongin texted Taemin a health study in the usage of vampires in vaccine production. They’d immediately gotten into hours of discussion. The texts became frequent, a few a week that wold end in Jongin replying  _ fuck i have a class in two hours i need to sleep,soz.  _

Jongin rang Taemin, talking for ages on his college classes, his dancing, how much he loved ballet, and  _ oh my god we should totally go see a ballet one night . _

Taemin wasn’t entirely sure what was happening before he got a shy text one night.

_**Jongin** \- hey uh, can i ask a personal question? x _

He’d replied sure and had raised an eyebrow at the  _ are you… are you into men _ message that came through.

_ Sexuality is null, fuck who you want, the way everything is set up in this world is meaningless and only to take power from those who have less of it for those who want more _ .

“Dude… he’s into you.”   
  
Taemin had tilted his head, looking up at Kibum, his senior vampire, as he lurked in the tree above him. At first, he’s pissed that Kibum is reading his texts before he realises Kibum is trying to help him.   
  
“What do you mean?”   
  
“He keeps sending you kisses, asking if you’re gay, flirting. I saw you two last time you went coffee - which was a date, he asked you on, by the way - and he’s super nervous and shy around you. He wants to be your boyfriend.”   
  
“Oh.”   
  
Taemin stared at his phone, quickly reopening the chat.  _ Uh, yes, I don’t really have a preference. Decent human is a decent human, honestly. I suck at this. I’m into you _ .

_ Do you wanna catch a film tomorrow? _

_ Sure, that sounds awesome.  _

_ I need to get to bed, but I’ll text tomorrow morning x _

Jongin had texted the next morning and Taemin had smiled as he typed a reply.  _ Actually, change of plans for tonight, we’re going to have to take a raincheck on that movie _

_ Oh.. did something come up?   
  
Yeah.. I got two tickets for Giselle, just opening in Seoul Ballet Theatre tonight    
  
ARE YOU JOKING? _

_ Pick you up at 6 x _

* * *

Taemin is jerked from his thoughts at the scent of ripe fruit hitting him. He looks to the side and finds he’s stood by the fruit vendor, wondering for a moment how long he’s stood there. He collects one of the small baskets offered by the fruit seller and looks over what is on offer. He picks up a few melons, a strawberry, a couple of oranges before he comes to the small blueberry selection. He takes his time looking over the punnets available, choosing the best one he can before fiddling with his wallet. He pays with a smile, wishing the vendor a good day and heading back to the apartment building.

His phone says he’s been gone for half an hour and he shrugs.

Before he can blink, he’s inside their kitchen, unpacking the fruit as Jongin chokes and splutters. “Wait when did you- Where did you-”   
  
“Vampire. Superspeed. Got bored of walking.”   
  
“Ah… right… right, yeah.”

Taemin can feel Jongin’s eyes on him as he moves around the kitchen and grins over his shoulder. “You know, I was just thinking.”

Jongin tilts his head, leaning back from his laptop. Taemin hears how every bone in his spine cracks and winces slightly. “What about?”

“What was our first date?”

“You… You don’t remember our first date?”

Taemin shakes his head, grabbing a knife to start preparing the melons. “No, I remember. I remember that little cafe you took me too with the absolutely disgusting coffee-”

“-Don’t say that too loud, Minseok will appear and slaughter you on the spot.You know what he’s like with his coffee.”

“-Well, I remember the cafe. And I remember the restaurant you asked me to - bad lie, by the way, the whole Sehun abandoned you and you had reservations and then you struggled to get a reservation when I said yes.”

“You knew I was lying?”

“It was obvious from the tone of your voice. And I know you always forget to defrost the meat, stop lying about that, you forget, you can’t help it. And I remember taking you to  _ Giselle _ . So I was wondering which one of those was actually our first date. I didn’t really get you were into me until the morning before I got tickets but you were clearly trying to date me the two times before that.” Taemin slides the cubed melon into a bowl and pulls the strawberries close. “So would the cafe, the restaurant or the ballet class as our first date?”

“Mm, if you weren’t really properly aware until the ballet then ballet would be our first date I believe.”

“So our two year anniversary will be next month, right?”

“It will be. Why?”

“Just wondering.” Taemin gets bored of chopping and cracks his neck, appearing at Jongin’s side with a bowl of freshly prepared fruit. Jongin jumps before laughing, grabbing a blueberry and chewing down on it as he observes his text book. “I don’t think I’m ever going to get used to that.”

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone I know without superspeed ever gets used to it. Coffee?”

“Cappuccino?”

Taemin heads back to the kitchen, loading the coffee machine with the right capsule and getting Jongin’s favourite mug out. He taps his finger on the side, waiting patiently when he suddenly freezes. 

Jongin curses and the chair scrapes as he jumps up and Taemin swallows softly as the scent of blood fills the air.

“God, fucking papercuts, you’d think they’d make textbooks out of a better material than something that constantly fucking slices your finger open.”

“Band aid, I’ll… I’ll get a band aid, do we have any?”

“I don’t know, god, that stings.” Jongin pauses. “Hey, Taemin, come here.”

Taemin stiffens his shoulders slightly but turns to walk slowly across the room. Jongin is holding his hand up, smiling softly. “A while ago, I was reading up on vampire lore you know; I never told you but Baekhyun came out to us as a vampire. You have a blood drinking ritual, right? For partners.”

Taemin blinks a little but nods. “It’s like engagement for humans. Why?”

Wordlessly, Jongin holds his hand out, smiling weakly. “I mean… I don’t know if it’s too soon for you, I get it. I mean, we’ve barely been together for two years and don’t feel pressured just. This felt like. A good opportunity.”

Taemin watches Jongin before staring at his outstretched finger, the bubble of blood slowly staining his skin. He leans forward, gently wrapping his lips around Jongin’s finger.

Iron wraps around his tongue immediately, the all-too-familiar taste of metal making his eye twitch slightly. When the tang of iron fades, Jongin… has an aftertaste, a soft hint of something almost like honey and Taemin can’t help but to suck gently, drawing more out of the blood. He makes eye contact with Jongin, watching for any sign that Jongin wants this to stop. Nothing shows and Taemin enjoys himself, taking his time before gently pulling back, making sure to press a gentle kiss to the tip of Jongin’s finger.

The coffee machine beeps, telling them that it's finished filling the mug and both of them jump a moment. Taemin can’t help but laugh, shaking his head as he heads back into the kitchen. He looks through the cabinet for a moment before bringing over a band aid, wrapping it around Jongin’s finger. “Does this mean I have to get you one of thoses rings you guys use?”

“I don’t know… do you want to get engaged?”

Taemin nods a little. “I could settle down with you in that way.”

“Then you better get me a ring.”

Taemin laughs and sits down, stealing a piece of melon from Jongin’s fruit salad. Jongin sits down, sipping his coffee. “You know, there’s a ballet interpretation of  _ Interview with a Vampire _ that’s going to be in Siheung next month… on our anniversary.”

“Ugh, you’re really going to make me go see that?”

“Oh, please, we are not getting through a single movie night without at least one vampire movie each time.”

Taemin groans and buries his face in his arms, resting against the table. “Don’t you have to write your PhD or fail?”

“I do, but this is more fun whilst I caffeinate.”

Taemin groans. “I’m never telling you anything again.”

Jongin pats Taemin’s back before going back to typing as he works on his thesis. After a while, Taemin sits back up and watches Jongin as he works, eyebrows furrowed as he types and retypes sentences. His hair is sticking up at weird angles from not being dried properly. His lips are fuller than usual as he pouts slightly, his bottom lip disappearing as he bites on it, observing a sentence. 

Taemin leans over, gently gripping Jongin’s chin and pulling so they face each other. He leans in, pressing a kiss to Jongin’s lips. Jongin immediately returns it, sliding his hand around the back of Taemin’s neck to hold him in place. They stay that way, drinking in each other as they kiss, lips melding together before Jongin eventually pulls back.

“Thanks for letting me drink your blood.”

“Thanks for my ring in the future. You better not forget.”

Taemin scoffs but presses a kiss to Jongin’s cheek and gets up, heading to the bedroom. He doesn’t sleep but he can lie down and be silent as Jongin gets his thesis done. Later, he can ravish him in the bedroom and order Jongin’s absolute favourite foods from eight different restaurants. For now, however, he climbs into their shared bed and stretches out, enjoying the silence before he has to hear Kibum burst his eardrums asking about  _ what the fuck do you mean you need to buy Jongin an  _ **_engagement_ ** _ ring _ .


End file.
